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Moroccan Wall: The Longest Minefield in The World

You may or
you may not have heard about “Western Sahara”, but if you consult Google
Maps or any other modern atlas, you will notice this region clearly
identified in the southern end of Morocco. “Western Sahara” is not an
actual country, as indicated by the lack of a political boundary between
this region and Morocco, but it isn’t totally under the control of
Morocco either. It is a disputed region with a complex, war-torn
history, and like many other disputed regions in the world, it has a
highly militarized zone at the center of which runs a 2,700 km-long sand
wall called the Moroccan Western Sahara Wall, or the Moroccan Wall, in
short.
Unlike other notorious barriers in the world, the Moroccan
Wall is rarely in the news and is little discussed outside of Africa.
The existence of this wall has been buried in the desert, along with the
40-year-old plight of the Sahrawi people the Moroccan Wall has kept
divided.

Western
Sahara was under Spanish occupation until 1975. After Spain
relinquished control over the territory, Morocco and Mauritania each
moved in and divided the territory between themselves, ignoring the
wishes of the indigenous Saharawi inhabitants which had been demanding
independence since the 1960s. In 1976, the Saharawis formed a rebel
national liberation movement called Polisario Front aiming to end
foreign presence in the Western Sahara. They declared Saharawi Arab
Democratic Republic (SADR) as an independent state and war broke out. In
1979, Mauritania withdrew but Morocco kept occupation of the area.
Around
this time, Morocco began building a huge 2,700-km-long sand-berm
dividing the territory longitudinally into two regions. The western side
is occupied by Morocco, while the eastern side, the so-called “free
zone,” is controlled by the Sahrawi rebels of the Polisario
organization. It is estimated that between 30,000 to 40,000 inhabitants
live in this landlocked swath of desert next to Algeria and Mauritania,
mostly in refugee camps or as nomads.Map of Western Sahara. The ‘Berm’ is shown in red.
Hostilities
between Morocco and the Polisario Front officially ended in 1991
following a cease-fire, but the Wall continues to be manned by thousands
of Moroccan troops all round the clock, while radar masts and other
electronic surveillance equipment scan the region for possible
intruders. All along the length of the wall runs a belt of mine that has
been called the longest continuous minefield in the world. There are
more than 7 million landmines throughout the Sahrawi Territory in
addition to large quantities of explosive remnants of war and cluster
munitions. Serious injuries, loss of limbs and deaths from accidental
detonation of these landmines is frequent among civilians.
The
United Nations doesn’t recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western
Sahara. They maintain that the Sahrawis have a right to
self-determination. However, many countries have expressed their support
for the Moroccan occupations, countries such as France and the United
States.
Morocco has economic interest in Western Sahara. The
region is rich in phosphate reserves and the waters are plenty of fish.
There is also speculation that there may be off-shore oil and natural
gas fields.
However, according to leaked United States diplomatic
cables, by Wikileaks, the region might actually be an economic burden
for Morocco.
Extracts from the leaked cable:

Existing
infrastructure is good and cash flow is buoyed by a large military
presence, tax breaks for businesses, subsidies on fuel, and a five-year,
$800 million investment package from the Government of Morocco (GOM).
Still, the territory faces serious economic challenges: unemployment
over 20 percent, a rapidly expanding urban population, scarce water
resources, and threatened fishing grounds - source of employment for 70
percent of the region's workers. The Western Sahara’s much-touted
phosphate reserves are relatively unimportant, representing less than
two percent of national holdings.

The cable concluded
that the territory is unlikely to ever be of any economic benefit for
Morocco even if offshore oil fields were to be discovered and exploited.
Satellite image of a part of the Moroccan Wall showing a fort.
The wall manned by Moroccan soldiers. Photo credit: Michele Benericetti/Wikimedia
Old Polisario Wall, Morocco, Western Sahara. Photo credit: Stefan Grossmann/Panoramio
Sources: Wikipedia / The Week / Aljazeera / DW / removethewall.org
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Moroccan Wall: The Longest Minefield in The World
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on
April 15, 2018
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